Gandhi the Man

Gandhi the Man is a book written by Eknath Easwaran, and published in 1989. It is a book about the everyday life of Mahatma Gandhi, consisting of clear and beautiful narrative and photographs. This is a very useful book for educational purposes, and serves as a great aside reference to get an idea of the kind of life the Mahatma had. Having read a couple of books about this amazing person, I thought this one gave a greater insight into his life as it also has some great pictures.

One common question that everyone asks is why the Mahatma never wore a top. During British rule, a law prohibiting the making of cloth meant that everyone had to buy clothes from the UK. This of course destroyed the Indian textiles industry, and many people who were poor could not afford to buy cloth. As a sign of protest to show the world how unfair the law was, The Mahatma refused to wear a top. He felt, quite rightly, that it would be inappropriate if he donned princely robes, whilst the people he represented were starving and without clothes. He also wanted to reflect the plight of his people, and not wearing a top demonstrated to the Colonial British how dire the situation was. In contrast, how many British MPs would be willing to share the pain and suffering of the people they were representing? I cannot think of any today. Generally, once they get a seat they have 4 years to gather as much loot as possible before the next lot come into power.

It was a historic moment to hear a US President mention the Mahatma. In doing so, President Barack Obama not only showed that he was a highly educated man, but also gained the respect of people all over the world. If I could bring one person back for a conversation, it would most likely be Mahatma Gandhi, but it would be a tough choice, as I would also like to bring back Einstein for a secondary consultation. Mahatma Gandhi had all the questions and answers figured out. Actually, I would also like to have tea with Elie Wiesel, because he is one of those amazingly intelligent people of our generation that I rank highly in the same class.

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